Center Parcs Le Lac d'Ailette

Lovely CP site and location on a beautiful lake - 2nd visit (first was 10 years ago) and different villas - new England pastel shades and ours had a magical view on lake with a balcony - from any other centerparcs site in UK and Europe which is good :). Spent hours watching 100s of dragonflies and swallows chasing each other skimming inches over top of the lake which was awesome 😎 One complaint: no AC in villas which were unbearably hot while we were there 37 oC heat - asked about ac at info point in aqua dome and guy shrugged (tip1: if it's predicted to be really 🔥 while visiting - bring your own portable desk fan(s) - we bought some fans (3) from a gigantic Carrefour supermarket (on outskirts of Reims) - which helped a lot ❄️) Went on day trips to the following - ranked (1-5 (best): 1. (5/5). Laon (20 mins in car) - was a really nice walled medieval city on top of a hill - massive cathedral, had a festival when we visited and made a great effort.. 2. (4/5). Asterix Park (1h by car) - (tip 2) we actually visited on the first day as en route to the site from the airport (Beauvais 50 mins - only 10 mins from de Gaul). Great rides for older teenagers and asterix obelix and friends for wee ones - very very French). (Tip 3) Entry was included on a (3-pass) Paris city pass tickets and you can also use these city pass tickets to visit Versailles, cruise Seine, open top bus tour etc... 3. (4/5). Reims (50 mins by car)- centre was really nice and Notre dame cathedral was as grand and majestic as it's more famous cousin in Paris (tip 4) It was lovely and cool to visit cathedral on a very very hot day - 37oC !!! 4. (3/5) Paris (2 h 30 mins in car each way !!) - drive was quite long and we got stuck in orbital for nearly an hour !! - Paris centre was very very very busy and we visited on a really hot day. (Tip 5: we Parked in an underground car park right next door to Notre dame - 36 euros for like 6 Hours which was not too bad). We Visited Notre Dame (which was beautiful and free entry but very very crowded ) and we then walked along Seine towards Louvre and Eiffel tower - didn't visit either as we have been before and didn't pre-book tickets. Went on an open-top bus tour - included in city pass tickets and traffic is crazy !!! Long journey home and added fun of driving country roads near CP site in the dark... 5. (5/5) . Driving in Rural country roads in France eg to Reims was enchanting and highlight of holiday for me, miles and miles of rolling yellow wheat fields interspersed with enchanting little villages :) We also passed by far too many war grave sites as these beautiful fields in middle of nowhere was where so many brave young men on all sides lost their lives in ww1 :(

We had a good holiday there. I was scared after reading some of the previous reviews but our comfort cottage was clean inside and out. There was some wear and tear but nothing bad, I also have that in my own house. Previous reviews stated that the terrace was dirty, ours was clean with some leafs on it - super normal. The park has many positive points such as: the swimming pool (water temperature excellent and many activities), restaurants and the beach. The animation activities were excellent for the kids, especially the “wannabe a fireman”. Despite many people the park was never too busy and the staff was very polite and helpful. Some things that I missed in comparison with Dutch parks: a central place around the fish pond and the indoor playground to sit and have coffee while the kids play. Also there is only one playground in the park that includes wooden houses and a slide, that’s it. The summer hotspot and the indoor Baluba provided no drinks or snacks. We were unaware that our dog was not allowed everywhere and took him to a less crowded space on the beach in the evening time, no one said anything. There are plenty of spaces to walk dogs. In the middle to end of July it was raining a lot but we also got some sunny days, those where the best to enjoy the park. The positive experience overrides the negative points. Overall we are happy with our stay.

Returned from this location yesterday, In all we had a good holiday at the park however there were some issues. Firstly there is no AC in the cottage’s meaning that they were sweltering 24 hours a day, secondly for a VIP cottage the distance to the parking bays during unloading was excessive. And thirdly please remove the CCTV from the aquamondo changing rooms, I understand you need them at the entrance but not above the cubicles. Overall I enjoyed my stay and would return.